(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a binding machine which is adapted to bind elongate articles by means of a wire.
(2) Description of Prior Art
There are known some types of binding machines, examples thereof being those which are disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,234,870; ibid. 3,470,813; ibid. 3,557,684; and ibid. 4,252,157; the Japanese Patent Kokai No. 58-171316; the Japanese Patent Kokoku No. 51-30513; and ibid. 55-29851. The known binding machines generally comprise a pair of semicircular shells which form an annular wire guide. A binding wire travels along the wire guide and around a bundle of elongate articles which are to be bound.
The known binding machines also comprise means for feeding the binding wire, means for detecting a leading end of the binding wire, means for stretching said wire, and means for cutting and simultaneously twisting said wire.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,234,870 to J. Missioux discloses such a machine that has a continuous helical passageway of two continuous loops guiding the wire around the articles which are to be bound. This machine, however, does not comprise any simple mechanism for switchover of a state of the passageway from two-loop mode to one-loop mode, or vice versa.
On the other hand, there is a demand for such a switchover mechanism because there are many kinds of articles which are lighter in their weight and can securely be bound by a single loop of binding wire.